Friday, April 10, 2009
Universal, YouTube to Launch 'VEVO' Music Video Site

Today Youtube is joining forces with Universal Music Group (UMG) to announce the launch of VEVO, a music and video entertainment hub that will feature UMG?s video content.

The site, which will be launched later this year, will blend UMG's broad catalog of artists and content production capabilities with Youtube's video technology and user community "In other words, we'll provide the technology infrastructure that will power VEVO and host UMG?s extensive library of professionally-created music videos on the new site," explained Chris Maxcy
Partnerships Director of YouTube. This content will be exclusively available through VEVO.com and a new VEVO channel on YouTube through a special VEVO branded embedded player, Youtube said.

Universal and YouTube also said they had renewed an agreement that allows users of YouTube to use music by Universal artists in user-generated videos on the popular video-sharing website. Users will be able to buy favorite tracks on the spot with Youtube's Click-to-Buy feature. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Google, the owner of Youtube, has been striving for ways to make money on YouTube while assuring film and music studios that video copyrights are being respected. Warner Music Group pulled its videos from YouTube in December after the companies failed to reached agreement on fees but another major label, Sony Music Entertainment, inked a new deal with YouTube this year.